Student Loans: Past and Present

Posted 10:50am Sunday 26th April 2015

In the wake of Germany having abolished student loans for domestic students and England having increased them to around £9,000 per annum ($18,000/year for tuition fees), New Zealand domestic students linger in a middle ground between the two. The average course fees for a bachelor’s Read more...

Union Success With Zero-Hour Contracts

Posted 10:38am Sunday 26th April 2015

Restaurant chains around New Zealand have said they will put an end to zero-hour contracts after action from Unite Union New Zealand. The union has called for an end to the contracts, claiming they do not offer employees the security they need. Protests have been held nationwide. The Read more...

Druglawed Premiere Must Not Promote

Posted 11:21am Sunday 19th April 2015

A film titled Druglawed had its world premiere at the University of Otago College Auditorium on Wednesday 14 April. The film, organised by Otago NORML, focuses on New Zealand’s involvement in the US-led War on Drugs. The film was directed and produced by South African filmmaker, Arik Read more...

Southern DHB Performs Their First EVAR

Posted 2:51pm Sunday 12th April 2015

A Balclutha man, Harold Masters, has become the first person to receive an Emergency Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair (EVAR) by surgeons from the Southern District Health Board. The procedure involves surgery into the aorta — the largest artery in the human body, which runs from Read more...

First-Year Enrolments Down 2.9 Per Cent

Posted 2:51pm Sunday 12th April 2015

Enrolments for full-time students to the University of Otago have dropped for 2015. Figures show that total enrolments for this year are 469 fewer students, or 2.9 per cent lower, than the 2014 figure of 18,570. Domestic first-year enrolments are down 9.2 per cent from the same period in Read more...

The Backwards Step for Uni Councils

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 29th March 2015

T he government has passed the Education Amendment Act (No. 2) 2015, which, among other things, will reduce university and wānanga councils nationwide. A key aspect of this is that universities are no longer required to have seats on their councils for staff and students. When the Read more...

Teaching Students Want To Go To Class Camp

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 29th March 2015

The College of Education has come under fire from students after final-year teaching students were refused official study leave to attend school camps. Sandor Toth, who has recently returned from a school camp despite not being granted leave, has criticised the school for not accepting what he says Read more...

The CCTV Debate

Posted 5:43pm Sunday 22nd March 2015

Closed-circuit television, or CCTV, is a method of recording the events that occur in a specific area. In particular, the cameras are used to monitor criminal activity. One of the largest users of CCTV in the world is the United Kingdom, which, according to Big Brother Watch, a privacy pressure Read more...

The Real Cost of Hyde

Posted 5:43pm Sunday 22nd March 2015

T he annual Hyde Street Keg Party, which took place on Saturday 21 March, has come under scrutiny due to its apparent cost to taxpayers. Last week, The Wireless published an article quoting Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull stating, “The public resource that goes into that one day is about Read more...

Ploughing Proves Dangerous

Posted 2:32pm Sunday 15th March 2015

U niversity of Otago research has shown that the ratio of male cancer risk is higher in populations descended from plough-using societies. The research, conducted by Professor David Fielding from the Department of Economics, looked at societies where the plough was adopted in the Neolithic Read more...